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Fursuit Building- How to build the Head.
= Basics. This article talks about the basics of making a fursuit head.'' '' To begin, draw a human head roughly the size of your own, this can be from a side angle or front, but both can be drawn to ensure your plans. Roughly sketch the shape of your character over the top, this can be done in a different colour for clarification, making sure to align, this will give you a fairly basic idea on the positioning and shape of your soon-to-be fur head. Main Points Measure your head. This is important for the way your head will fit. Failure to do this and your furhead will either be too tight or too lose. If your furhead is too tight, it will become difficult to wear, and may cause migraines and general discomfort. Wearing a fursuit is meant to be fun! If your head is too loose, this will cause difficulties in wearing, as it will slip out of place, causing discomfort, this may also restrict vision, as the eyes will move out of place. This is very important when suiting, as vision is limited beforehand. Decide if you want the furhead to be toony or realistic. If you're making a realistic furhead of a wolf for example, study the anatomy of a wolf head. With a toony head, you won't have to study quite as much anatomy.'' '' You can find stencils or templates of furheads on Google if you like. Decide if you are using a plastic mesh skeleton or foam base. This tutorial will be focusing on making a furhead with a plastic mesh base And a balaclava base Materials: *Paper *Pencil *Markers *Plastic canvas (mesh) or a balaclava *Upholstery foam *Hot-glue gun *Scissors, trimmers, anything that cuts fur *Fake fur- Luxury Shag or Faux Fur are the usual choices *Acrylic Paints (For eyes) *Sculpting clay *Nose *Patience and creativity Things that are NOT fursuit building materials: *Shag carpet, fun fur, real fur- Although a cheap alternative, these are usually heavy, hard to work with or difficult to wash, which is essential for a suit. *Aerosol, spray paint *Cardboard *Elmer's Glue or any sort of PVA or Casein glue, these are toxic and are extremly dangerous when in an unventilated area. *Bags Constructing the head-base. MESH BASE After planning out how you want the head to look, buy the plastic mesh. It comes in large sheets and you can find it at most crafts stores. The mesh is similar to the type that is used in screen doors, except more flexible. It can also be referred to as Craft Mesh, and is more commonly used as embroidery or cross stitch basing. Cut the mesh into strips, both long and short. Hot glue or sew them together to form the head and snout. If you used glue, let it dry for 2 hours or better. BEFORE putting foam on it, place the mesh head base on your head to test how it fits. The foam used for the base is upholstery foam, NOT styrofoam! Do NOT use stryofoam! WalMart or any craft stores carry foam. Why not styrofoam? Because it is hard and brittle. It can crush easily, and is NOT flexible nor comfy to wear. Cut the foam into a chunks and using a hot glue gun, glue the foam onto the base. After that, shape the foam into the shape you want your furhead. Then, take a magic marker (or any marker) and draw on the foam where the eyes, nose, and mouth and ears will be located. Keep in mind that you can drill holes in a resin cast nose for better air circulation! BALACLAVA BASE For a balaclava base, you will need a balaclava and upholstery foam. The balaclava can be brought in walmart or a store that sells ski supplies. You can also make one. They are really good for tutorials and they also do two other tutorials for follow-me eyes and putting and sculpting the foam onto a balaclava base. Here is a link for there tutorial http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h5xJDhIetQI Next you need to make a template. After you have your template you need to trace it onto your foam. You need 1 top jaw, 1 bottom jaw, 2 bottom cheeks, 2 top cheeks 1 brow and two eye brows and 2 ears. If you are stuck of how to do this, the Mischief makers also do a tutorial for this http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O73FgEWG2Jk After you have done all of this glue it onto your base and take a break to clean up. Since you have shaped it, there is going to be a lot of foam on the floor. After you have done this you are ready to go into the next stage! Congrats :) You're half way there! Putting on the fur First thing you need to do is tape your fursuit base and label it. For tape, you can use duct tape or masking tape. Be careful with the kind of tape, too strong and it will rip chunks of the foam out, making it choppy and will tamper with the end result. Many people put a thin layer of Kitchen Towel down first to prevent this. With masking tape, make sure you put a lot on until you can't see the foam underneath. Otherwise, when you cut it off, it won't stay together. While it is still attached to the head, draw your markings on, along with which colour, fur direction, and if it is on the left or right. Begin cutting the tape into large, manageable sections. This creates the template for your fur, and where you need to sew, so be mindful of where the seams would be. Cut the patterns separately, organising by colour. Be careful when removing the tape, if done correctly, it should peel off without much of a hassle, otherwise, gently cut underneath and try to minimalise foam tearing. Place your tape sections onto your fur. This is where the arrows come in handy, as this will help when cutting. If the fur direction is wrong, your suit will not look flush and it cannot be fixed. Trace around the template with a pencil, pen will bleed through and stain the fur. Cut the templates out, preferably with a scalpel or Stanley knife from the backing to prevent fur loss. When putting on the fur, sew it together so that you can't see the seam otherwise your fursuit won't look right. The next thing to do is to add small amounts of glue to secure the fur, making sure it won't slip. CAUTION: do not add too much glue, otherwise it could make the head heavy, clumpy, and stop any moving jaw actions. Once the fur is secure, allow any glue to solidify. Brush it out thoroughly in the direction it faces and decide if you want to trim. Most professional fursuit heads have the muzzle up to the forehead and cheeks trimmed to allow a more natural look, as most untrimmed fursuit heads look messy and unruly. If you are using follow-me eyes, put them in before you put the fur on as it is easier to put them in than afterwards and allows a more flush finish. For more about eyes look in the eye section of this article. Eyes There are three different eyes you can use for your head: resin, follow-me eyes, and 2D eyes. For a Toony fursuit, the best eyes would be follow me or 2D. Follow-me Eyes Follow-me eyes are what they are! To make these you need Foam / funky foam. They can be found at almost any craft store. You will want a white/black sheet. Here is a tutorial for these http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UmKryPPBKiA 2D Eyes These are simple and easy to make what you need is a white plastic. These can be found as sheets or you could just use a white plastic bowl. You also need buckram and felt. First draw a template that fits your fursuit's head. Next, draw it out onto the plastic and cut it out. Then use buckram and paint it, or use paint pens and colour it to the colour you want and put a pupil in. After you have done that, place your eyes into the socket and there you have it! You have your new 2D eyes! Resin Eyes Resin eyes are made... well... out of resin. Resin is a type of plastic. You can buy the supplies near crafting or hardware store. Tutorials flood the internet, so you should have no problem finding help! They can also be bought premade. To install resin eyes, make sure you have some see-through material near the tear-duct of the animal's eyes. This is to prevent blindness, as resin eyes are not transparent. If installing LED lights, make sure you place them carefully in an are that will not reduce your sight- there have been many times when LED lights block the wearer's field of vision. Adding the jaw. There are two types of jaw- Movable and stiff. A movable jaw moves when you talk. A moveable jaw is most likely set on hinges, unless you have a foam-based head. In order for a tutorial, please search the internet- there are many different ways to create and install a jaw, which usually conform to the users way of creating. For teeth, you can use Sculpey!- a type of clay. Shape the teeth into the shape that satisfies you the most. Studying anatomy of your creature's species is recommended before applying the teeth to the base. Be careful with your baked Sculpey, It has a tendency to chip and sometimes even break if dropped. . Teeth can also be made with felt or fleece, sew together small shapes, either rounded or pointed, and sew into the felt lining in the mouth. These can look bulky and out of place if not done correctly, so practice beforehand until you find a pattern or shape you prefer. If you feel the need to add a tongue- felt, resin or crafter's clay is available. Just shape and colour to your satisfaction. Adding the nose. You can either use a felt nose or a resin cast nose- maybe even a nose made of latex for a squish! Resin noses are harder than most- but work efficiently. You can drill holes where the nostrils are and make it hollow to help with air ventilation throughout the head. Use a hot glue gun to add the nose, or sew it into place if you are using fleece or felt. Be aware of the thickness of your tongue, if too bulky it can displace the whole mouth and block ventilation, but do not use a single sheet of material as it is flimsy and looks unprofessional and unnatural.'' The ears. Common sense would've told you that when you have the plastic mesh base, to make the ear base as well. And glue foam onto the ears. You fur the ears like you fur the head; Hot glue, let dry, and cut the fur a little with scissors to make it look cleaner (if needed) This can also be achieved with only foam. If using foam, the number one mistake people make is just cutting a triangle or rounded shape from a single piece of foam and gluing it on. This will make it look unnatural and out of place. This can be used as a base, and to build up around the outside. One of the main ways is to bend a thick piece of foam into a semi-circular shape at the base, then trim to the shape you want, this gives a new dimension and looks flush with your head. Additional notes: * Make sure to clean your furhead regularly, sweat can build up and cause mold and odor. *Don't let other people wear the head unless you know them well, they could have lice! *Make a badge; this will help you explain your character and its fun, especially if you are a mute suit. *Make sure you have a handler with you if you go out or to a con since you could overheat or get into trouble *Invest in a small sewing kit that you can carry around if any breakages happen, if you use your suit regularly, a weak stitch may pop and unravel *Ask for critique, online forums can be useful, as a parent or friend may give a bias opinion *Be sure to have fun! Category:Forums Category:fursuiting Category:art